The Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) has been designed to support the long-term efforts of targeted countries to further develop their capability to successfully identify, design and implement holistic adaptation and disaster risk reduction programmes that are aligned with national development priorities. This report provides insight into the Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) and its related country project profiles. The AAP has shifted into implementation, with Namibia and Tunisia as the first countries to complete national inception workshops. Eighteen out of the total twenty programme countries will complete national inception processes and start full-fledged implementation in the coming months.

This document describes the process to establish PCLs for total petroleum hydrocarbon mixtures.

UNDP promotes equitable access to water resources and water and sanitation services as a fundamental requisite for human development. In a rapidly changing world, UNDP's Water Governance Programme catalyzes efforts towards the achievements of the MDGs. The document provides a brief overview of UNDP's Water Governance Programme.

The purpose of this scorecard is to assist governments, donors and NGOs to investigate and record significant aspects of aProtected Area (PA) financing system –its accounts and its underlying structural foundations – to show both its current health and status and to indicate if the system is holistically moving over the long-term towards an improved financial situation. The scorecard is designed for national systems of PAs but could be used by sub-national eg state, regional or municipal or networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

Broad Funding Opportunity Announcement Project: Ceres is developing bigger and better grasses for use in biofuels. The bigger the grass yield, the more biomass, and more biomass means more biofuel per acre. Using biotechnology, Ceres is developing grasses that will grow bigger with less fertilizer than current grass varieties. Hardier, higher-yielding grass also requires less land to grow and can be planted in areas where other crops can’t grow instead of in prime agricultural land. Ceres is conducting multi-year trials in Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia which have already resulted in grass yields with as much as 50% more biomass than yields from current grass varieties.

Broad Funding Opportunity Announcement Project: In a battery, metal ions move between the electrodes through the electrolyte in order to store energy. Envia Systems is developing new silicon-based negative electrode materials for Li-Ion batteries. Using this technology, Envia will be able to produce commercial EV batteries that outperform today’s technology by 2-3 times. Many other programs have attempted to make anode materials based on silicon, but have not been able to produce materials that can withstand charge/discharge cycles multiple times. Envia has been able to make this material which can successfully cycle hundreds of times, on a scale that is economically viable. Today, Envia’s batteries exhibit world-record energy densities.

Broad Funding Opportunity Announcement Project: ITN is addressing the high cost of electrochromic windows with a new manufacturing process: roll-to-roll deposition of the film onto flexible plastic surfaces. Production of electrochromic films on plastic requires low processing temperatures and uniform film quality over large surface areas. ITN is overcoming these challenges using its previous experience in growing flexible thin-film solar cells and batteries. By developing sensor-based controls, ITN’s roll-to-roll manufacturing process yields more film over a larger area than traditional film deposition methods. Evaluating deposition processes from a control standpoint ultimately strengthens the ability for ITN to handle unanticipated deviations quickly and efficiently, enabling more consistent large-volume production. The team is currently moving from small-scale prototypes into pilot-scale production to validate roll-to-roll manufacturability and produce scaled prototypes that can be proven in simulated operating conditions. Electrochromic plastic films could also open new markets in building retrofit applications, vastly expanding the potential energy savings.

Summary describing the work completed at Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies for Marginal Production in the Gulf of Mexico. It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings.

The report provides the status and trends of biodiversity offset and compensatory mitigation programs by geographical region. It summarizes the total active programs and developing activities, and broad metrics like total known payments and land area protected. It also analyzes the characteristics of offset programs and looks at recent developments in nascent and existing programs in the region.

Broad Funding Opportunity Announcement Project: ASU is engineering a type of photosynthetic bacteria that efficiently produce fatty acids—a fuel precursor for biofuels. This type of bacteria, called Synechocystis, is already good at converting solar energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) into a type of fatty acid called lauric acid. ASU has modified the organism so it continuously converts sunlight and CO2 into fatty acids—overriding its natural tendency to use solar energy solely for cell growth and maximizing the solar-to-fuel conversion process. ASU’s approach is different because most biofuels research focuses on increasing cellular biomass and not on excreting fatty acids. The project has also identified a unique way to convert the harvested lauric acid into a fuel that can be easily blended with existing transportation fuels.

Broad Funding Opportunity Announcement Project: GM is using shape memory alloys that require as little as a 10°C temperature difference to convert low-grade waste heat into mechanical energy. When a stretched wire made of shape memory alloy is heated, it shrinks back to its pre-stretched length. When the wire cools back down, it becomes more pliable and can revert to its original stretched shape. This expansion and contraction can be used directly as mechanical energy output or used to drive an electric generator. Shape memory alloy heat engines have been around for decades, but the few devices that engineers have built were too complex, required fluid baths, and had insufficient cycle life for practical use. GM is working to create a prototype that is practical for commercial applications and capable of operating with either air- or fluid-based heat sources. GM’s shape memory alloy based heat engine is also designed for use in a variety of non-vehicle applications. For example, it can be used to harvest non-vehicle heat sources, such as domestic and industrial waste heat and natural geothermal heat, and in HVAC systems and generators.

Texas Daily Newspaper Associations' 2009 Bright Ideas Award submission guidelines. The Bright Ideas Award will be presented to four newspapers of different circulation classes with the best self-promotions of 2009. The document details how the newspaper may submit for entry.

The Salmon, Mississippi, Site, also called the Tatum Dome Test Site, is a 1,470-acre tract of land in Lamar County, Mississippi, 21 miles southwest of Hattiesburg. The nearest town is Purvis, about 10 miles east of the site. The site is in a forested region known as the long-leaf pine belt of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Elevations in the area range from about 240 to 350 feet above sea level. The site overlies a salt formation called the Tatum Salt Dome. Land around the Salmon site has residential, industrial, and commercial use, although no one lives within the boundary of the site itself. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, a predecessor agency of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Department of Defense conducted two underground nuclear tests at the site under the designation of Project Dribble, part of a larger program known as the Vela Uniform program. Two gas explosive tests, designated Project Miracle Play, were also conducted at the site.

Transcript of an oral interview with Norman E. Winter. Born in 1924, he was inducted into the Army in October 1944 after a one-year agricultural deferment. He talks about basic training and weaponry at Camp Hood, Texas. He was assigned to a light weapons platoon in Company E, 129th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division. He shares an anecdote about sea sickness on the ship to the Philippines and describes the living conditions of the Filipinos. He describes advancing to the northern end of Luzon in the face of Japanese artillery fire and night fighting. He shares anecdotes about dancing in Manilla and going to the beach in Aparri. After V-J Day, he re-enlisted and returned to the U.S. with the 37th Division. He was transferred to Germany where he was assigned to the Army Counter Intelligence Corps. While serving in the Berghausen field office, his mission was to arrest Nazi war criminals. He shares the stories of three such arrests. In late 1947 his mission changed to gathering information about Communist activities. He describes an incident in which he, disguised as a Military Policeman, accompanied refugees on a train bound for Hungary for repatriation. He served as Army personnel in …

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Authority of the Governor to grant a posthumous pardon (RQ-0810-GA).

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Karger Building, in Comfort, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, floor plans, and photographs.

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Magnolia Park City Hall and Central Fire Station, in Houston, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, floor plans, and photographs.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has had long-standing difficulties developing and delivering space systems on time and within budget. Some programs have been delayed by years and cost billions of dollars more than their initial estimates. Attempts to reform DOD space acquisitions in the past have sought to leverage commercial approaches or rely more on the commercial sector to meet DOD needs. These efforts have not been successful and, in some cases, have exacerbated problems, particularly with respect to oversight. In view of past challenges with adopting commercial approaches, Congress requested an examination of the following questions: (1) What are the differences between commercial and national security space system missions, requirements, and technology development? (2) What acquisition practices adopted by commercial companies could be used for national security space system acquisitions? (3) Which acquisition practices adopted by commercial companies may not be readily adaptable for national security space system acquisitions?"

Congressional Record in which Representative Ros-Lehtinen honors the life of Woman Airforce Service Pilot, Frances Sargen, describing her service with the WASP and her life after retirement.

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Mesa Water Boosting Station, in El Paso, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, floor plans, maps, and photographs.

Broad Funding Opportunity Announcement Project: MSU is developing a new engine for use in hybrid automobiles that could significantly reduce fuel waste and improve engine efficiency. In a traditional internal combustion engine, air and fuel are ignited, creating high-temperature and high-pressure gases which expand rapidly. This expansion of gases forces the engine’s pistons to pump and powers the car. MSU’s engine has no pistons. It uses the combustion of air and fuel to build up pressure within the engine, generating a shockwave that blasts hot gas exhaust into the blades of the engine’s rotors causing them to turn, which generates electricity. MSU’s redesigned engine would be the size of a cooking pot and contain fewer moving parts—reducing the weight of the engine by 30%. It would also enable a vehicle that could use 60% of its fuel for propulsion.

Minutes for the January 14, 2010 TXSSAR meeting, held by the McKinney chapter.

Broad Funding Opportunity Announcement Project: Foro Energy is developing a unique capability and hardware system to transmit high power lasers over long distances via fiber optic cables. This laser power is integrated with a mechanical drilling bit to enable rapid and sustained penetration of hard rock formations too costly to drill with mechanical drilling bits alone. The laser energy that is directed at the rock basically softens the rock, allowing the mechanical bit to more easily remove it. Foro Energy’s laser-assisted drill bits have the potential to be up to 10 times more economical than conventional hard-rock drilling technologies, making them an effective way to access the U.S. energy resources currently locked under hard rock formations.

Website page about the McKinney chapter of the Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution.